We are the storm

Cousins,
In summer I promised you victory over the Druj. I promised you expansion. I promised you hope. As we all watched the sun rise on an Imperial Sarangrave last summit, I saw this Empire strike the first triumphant blow in the fight that will define our generation.

As of the last summit, our Empire stands at the largest it has ever been. I want every citizen in this Empire to take stock of this fact. Though we may be in times of uncertainty, though there is still much to be done, we are the citizens of an Empire on the rise.

I asked you all to stand with me. You have. And the path to Victory is clearer now than it has ever been. History is watching us all with bated breath, and we must rise to the occasion.

We are going to win.

But to win is not enough.

My soul bears the words ‘Ossium’s Architect.’ As senator, I was the first person in living memory to completely develop virgin Druj territory. I have seen what these lands can become, and I know what it takes. From miasma and dirt, I built roads, barracks, sinecures, armies and homes. For each Druj territory we hold, we secure new tax revenue, new bourse seats and we expand our hearth. Ahead of us, we see our economic future, we need only the Ambition to seize it.

My heart swells with pride to know I am the Empress of the largest Empire in Imperial history. But it will mean more still when every stretch of former Druj land holds safe imperial homes. We will see Urizeni hearths illuminated all around the Sarangrave like a constellation of stars.

Amongst the triumphs of this season, we cannot forget what must still be done. For the same reason we wage war in the East we must not forget the West. Land and homes are our most important resource. This season my friend, The Fire of the Marches, Amberlain P Black rises to reclaim her own land.

The Dour Fens is a land long fought over. Even in my own Varushka, we have heard the story of the ancient battle between the Bregas people against the first kin of Ulven and the giant who watched them and would one day sink the territory into what it is today. In these stories, we see why the Jotun are doomed to fail. Why Bregasland is Marcher. The Jotun fight for some long-lost idea of a land. They fight to relive an ancient victory. The folk of the Marches found Bregasland as it was, and much like Ossium, the first Marchers made homes from the land and shaped it into what it is. They are fighting for their homes, their families, and the promise of their nation. And those who heed the same call as I shall do the same. No matter how hard the Jotun strike here, Bregasland will stand. For though the body may be broken and tired, through it all, The Heart Yet Beats.

I march with my Iron Sparrows under the banner of The Drakes, our first Imperial Army. If your fight lies to the West, join me in the line beside Bregasland's wardens.

If the Jotun will not leave our hearth, then let them and all our enemies burn in the firestorm of this new era of The Empire.

We are the storm that wipes away our enemies and the spark that lights the hearthfire's flame.

This season, I would like to commend the Imperial Generals who fought in the Sarangrave and helped to achieve this historic victory.
Skywise Rykana of the Winter Sun, Gabriel Barossa of the Towerjacks, Andronikos of the Lighthouse-That-Was of the Citadel Guard, Vojsuli Cherenkov of the Golden Axe, Dame Aurum De Castellan of the Eastern Sky, Ser Guy of the Twisted Rose of the Gryphons Pride, Dame Katelyn Quinnell De Cordraco of the Lions of Adelmar, Sychar of Ebon's Hall of the Granite Pillar, Jaromir Ostrovyn Kostka of the Northern Eagle, Vincente i Zayden i Guerra of the Fire of the South, Irontide Skorr of the Summer Storm, Clytemnestra of the House of the Wanderer of the Argent Sword, Serafina Semenov of the Boyars Hasta, Aksel Reznov Razoradze of the Northern Eagle and the soldiers of the Quiet Step.

Here stand the tall figures of the history they will write of us.
Inextricable. Indefatigable. Inevitable.
Emperor Vesna
Empress of the Hearth, Crowned in Thunder.

Overview

Emperor Vesna has used their power to address the Empire, sending a message to all Imperial citizens. As with other uses of this power, the civil service has ensured the message is heard by citizens across the Empire and beyond.

Significance

The Throne has the power to nominate a single Imperial citizen who can deliver a message to the people of the Empire each summit. It is common practice for the Throne to use this power themselves, when they wish to speak to all their people about important matters.

Previous Addresses

Emperor Vesna

• We are the storm (Winter 387YE)
• Diadem on my brow (Autumn 387YE)
• That's where my heart is (Summer 387YE)
• Walk with me (Spring 387YE)
• I am easy to find (Winter 386YE)
• Signal fire (Autumn 386YE)
• Inextricable, indefatigable, and inevitable (Summer 386YE)
• Promising light, the Coronation address (Spring 386YE)

Imperatrix Lisabetta

• No time for ease (Autumn 383YE)
• Nothing great without cost (Winter 382YE)
• United in law (Spring 382YE)
• Proud to Serve (Autumn 381YE)
• In Virtue and Reason (Summer 381YE)
• Iron and wine, the Coronation address (Autumn 380YE)